I got back to Indiana yesterday around the same time that two of my friends did, so we took the shuttle from the airport together. We'd all been interviewing, so we had stories to swap--of heinous grad students, of awkward encounters with professors, and of the moments where we really clicked with an academic or got to meet one of our scholarly idols (I did! And so help me, it was cool.) It's a weird process, as all interviews are. So much preparation, so much mascara application, and so much hoping that you're not going to do something awkward or uneducated. The thing that I have to remember is that these are academics, and they are therefore a little socially awkward, so I should just embrace this and roll with it. I don't know how this topic came up, but one of us said something about our grandmothers and job interview advice, and it went something like this:
Friend: my grandmother always tells me that schools would be lucky to have me because of my smile, and my "perfect teeth". I don't think Dr. [name redacted] cares about my teeth though.
Me: I got the teeth thing too! Mine told me that interviews were easier for me than "homely people" because I could just smile and people would hire me.
Friend 2: well, mine told me that I should be a newscaster because she thinks with my face I should be on TV!
And then we all giggled about this, but it got me thinking about grandmothers, great-aunts, and the like--people who think you're infallible when you are really fallible, and how this is such a wonderful thing to have. And sometimes, when you are feeling particularly aimless, dumb, or unprepared, it's exactly what you need. Yes, parents do it too, but nothing beats a grandmother in your corner. I remember I made the mistake of calling my gram on Valentines Day a few years ago, and she asked whether I had a man to buy me candy. I said no, while mentally banging my head on the wall, and she said, "oh, you can buy your own candy! You don't need a MAN!" Grandmothers don't let you have a pity party for yourself. They know that we're smart, and brave, and awesome. Maybe we should just remember that we are awesome, too.
Showing posts with label the everyday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the everyday. Show all posts
Sunday, 12 February 2012
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
I'm Back! Sort of.
Hi, everyone! I know it's been awhile since I've posted and I do heartily apologize for the radio silence, but it was sort of necessary. I needed to not write for awhile. One thing that grad school crushed out of me last semester was the joy of writing, and when I was home over winter break I had other things I wanted to do--Christmas things, family things, friend things, none of which involved computers. It was a perfect break. It was a necessary break. I did have to spend some of it writing PhD applications (ask me sometime about how this system is a way to leech money from underpaid students...anyway) but most of break was just that--a break. My mom and sister and I went to Toronto, which was totally fun, and my favorite aunt and cousins came out for a visit. I'm in the third week of classes now and am slowly motivating myself. I'm only enrolled in one class this semester--on 19th century European art, totally cool--and grading for a class on Renaissance "Giants" (Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, Titian, and the other guys in the band), and working on my very vague thesis. I have to knock out an abstract for that this weekend.
But I am significantly less busy (so far) than last semester, so am planning on being a better blogger, hopefully with more fun things to say than "today I lesson planned and read theory and ate my dinner standing next to my kitchen sink." I'm not used to this leisure time, and need to be more productive with it (read: volunteering at an animal shelter) instead of knitting fingerless gloves and watching PBS series' (DOWNTON! NORTH AND SOUTH! SHERLOCK!).
And as far as updates go, today was pretty perfect. It's Burns Night, when Scots--and likeminded friends--toast the haggis and use it as an excuse to drink. I had my two classes today, then two meetings, then went to the Irish Lion, which is one of my most favorite places in town. It's a pub, and is built almost like a railroad apartment, in that it's kind of long and rectangular. It's just cozy--warm wood bannisters, comfortable benches, deer heads on the walls (kind of ehh, but still), and a copper ceiling, with a really well-stocked whiskey selection. I went with four friends and we reminisced about Anglo-travels and ate and drank and had a lovely time. I had a snakebite (Guinness + strongbow, I always ordered this in Norwich, because they added blackcurrent syrup to it, yum) and lamb stew in a bread bowl. Really, really good comfort food. We split a piece of Baileys cake and a slice of whiskey pie.
I like Robert Burns well enough, and it is his birthday today--hence, Burns Night. I remember reading "To a Mouse" in a high school English class, and always loved how "tim'rous beastie" sounded. My grandmother has said to me multiple times, "well, as Bobby Burns said, "The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men, gang aft agley," when I was grumpy about things not going as I wanted them to. Or this exchange from PG Wodehouse's "Indian Summer of an Uncle"
[Jeeves has just quoted Burns]
Wooster: "Never mind about the poet Burns."
Jeeves: "No, sir."
Wooster: "Forget the poet Burns."
Jeeves: "Very good, sir."
Wooster: "Expunge the poet Burns from your mind."
Jeeves: "I will do so immediately, sir."
ANYWAY, this preamble of Burns related things is to preface how delighted I was, after leaving the pub full of warm bread and warming beverage, to climb into a friend's car and realize that we had come at the perfect time, because Garrison Keillor's "Writer's Almanac" was on. So we turned it up quite loud, and drove through the rainy streets and listened to Keillor's soothing voice tell about Burns and read a poem about winter. There is not much better than that.
Will try and update soon--I'm traveling a bit for interviews in the next few weeks, so that might spice it up a bit.
But I am significantly less busy (so far) than last semester, so am planning on being a better blogger, hopefully with more fun things to say than "today I lesson planned and read theory and ate my dinner standing next to my kitchen sink." I'm not used to this leisure time, and need to be more productive with it (read: volunteering at an animal shelter) instead of knitting fingerless gloves and watching PBS series' (DOWNTON! NORTH AND SOUTH! SHERLOCK!).
And as far as updates go, today was pretty perfect. It's Burns Night, when Scots--and likeminded friends--toast the haggis and use it as an excuse to drink. I had my two classes today, then two meetings, then went to the Irish Lion, which is one of my most favorite places in town. It's a pub, and is built almost like a railroad apartment, in that it's kind of long and rectangular. It's just cozy--warm wood bannisters, comfortable benches, deer heads on the walls (kind of ehh, but still), and a copper ceiling, with a really well-stocked whiskey selection. I went with four friends and we reminisced about Anglo-travels and ate and drank and had a lovely time. I had a snakebite (Guinness + strongbow, I always ordered this in Norwich, because they added blackcurrent syrup to it, yum) and lamb stew in a bread bowl. Really, really good comfort food. We split a piece of Baileys cake and a slice of whiskey pie.
I like Robert Burns well enough, and it is his birthday today--hence, Burns Night. I remember reading "To a Mouse" in a high school English class, and always loved how "tim'rous beastie" sounded. My grandmother has said to me multiple times, "well, as Bobby Burns said, "The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men, gang aft agley," when I was grumpy about things not going as I wanted them to. Or this exchange from PG Wodehouse's "Indian Summer of an Uncle"
[Jeeves has just quoted Burns]
Wooster: "Never mind about the poet Burns."
Jeeves: "No, sir."
Wooster: "Forget the poet Burns."
Jeeves: "Very good, sir."
Wooster: "Expunge the poet Burns from your mind."
Jeeves: "I will do so immediately, sir."
ANYWAY, this preamble of Burns related things is to preface how delighted I was, after leaving the pub full of warm bread and warming beverage, to climb into a friend's car and realize that we had come at the perfect time, because Garrison Keillor's "Writer's Almanac" was on. So we turned it up quite loud, and drove through the rainy streets and listened to Keillor's soothing voice tell about Burns and read a poem about winter. There is not much better than that.
Will try and update soon--I'm traveling a bit for interviews in the next few weeks, so that might spice it up a bit.
Wednesday, 7 December 2011
Hiatus
So I'll be back to blogging in about a week, but until then I'm going to fall off the face of the world a little bit. The fact that I am writing this at 1:45 am when I have to get up for class in 5 1/2 hours should tell you the sort of week I'm having--48 papers graded in time to get 48 finals tomorrow, grades to figure out and submit, 20 pages of a HIDEOUS theory paper written, 20 pages left to write for that and other papers, books to read, facts to check, Christmas gifts to procur, two PhD personal statements crafted with four to go, a writing sample to edit, recommenders to remind, and a Sunday afternoon flight to catch. My last paper is due on the 13th, but I'm going home on the 11th because 1. I really, really want to go home, having not been there since August, and 2. one of my friends volunteered to print my final.
I'm in a much better frame of mind after ordering pizza for dinner, knocking out six pages of writing tonight, doing a solid months worth of laundry (hey, I'll have clean underwear tomorrow! Excellent!) listening to a ridiculous amount of Michael Buble's Christmas songs, and making lists.
This is my favorite time of year, and I'm sad I haven't been able to get into much of a Christmas-y mood, but hopefully that will happen soon. No tree here, no time to put up my lights, and it's been sleeting. One thing that is reassuring is that all of my friends are crazying out, since all of us are grading or teaching or working at the museum, and my friends who aren't at school are super busy with work, so I feel less bad about being a terrible communicator for a week. We started saying "you are on crazy pills" which then turned into "you are on cra pills" which then turned into "CRA PILLS." Art historian catchphrases?
Send me good, scholarly, multi-tasking vibes. I need them. And I'll send some to you! See you all in the middle of the month.
I'm in a much better frame of mind after ordering pizza for dinner, knocking out six pages of writing tonight, doing a solid months worth of laundry (hey, I'll have clean underwear tomorrow! Excellent!) listening to a ridiculous amount of Michael Buble's Christmas songs, and making lists.
This is my favorite time of year, and I'm sad I haven't been able to get into much of a Christmas-y mood, but hopefully that will happen soon. No tree here, no time to put up my lights, and it's been sleeting. One thing that is reassuring is that all of my friends are crazying out, since all of us are grading or teaching or working at the museum, and my friends who aren't at school are super busy with work, so I feel less bad about being a terrible communicator for a week. We started saying "you are on crazy pills" which then turned into "you are on cra pills" which then turned into "CRA PILLS." Art historian catchphrases?
Send me good, scholarly, multi-tasking vibes. I need them. And I'll send some to you! See you all in the middle of the month.
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
Don't Stop Me Now
Tonight, for the first time in about a month, I didn't have any specific work to do. There is so much on the horizon that I could start on, but really, nights off need to happen. They haven't been happening lately, and I miss 'em. In the past two weeks I have: written a 13 page seminar paper and presented it to my class, written a 15 page paper to be presented on Sunday at a lecture competition thing (more on that later, maybe, if I survive. Since my advisor is looking over it now I have a few days of not dealing with it), had two phone chat/interviews with two professors that I would like to work with in different PhD programs, emailed three other professors to see if they'd like to set up interviews, went out for Halloween, graded 40 quizzes, lesson planned, had my teaching observed by my supervising professor (which went well, I was very happy about it), co-planned our biennial art history association (AHA) booksale, re-dyed part of my hair purple, and slept, but not enough.
So what did I do tonight? Well, as I'm typing this, I have a giant pot of applesauce cookin' on the stove, and cooked up a bunch of cabbage and bacon for dinner. I haven't bought meat in probably 9 months, but I just really wanted bacon today, so I got some! Wonderful comfort-y food. I plan to have so much brinner this week. I dealt with some old receipts, cleaned my purse(s), although my desk is still a disaster, and submitted all the payment requests for AHA (I'm the treasurer, despite genuinely being godawful at math). I'm planning to watch a few episodes of Twin Peaks (SO GOOD, I'm a tiny bit obsessed) and head to bed.
But for the moment I am confident that I will get everything done this semester. Yes, I may be writing my theory paper ON Thanksgiving (not-going-to-think-about-it) and I have yet to write any personal statements or request transcripts or GRE scores or...the list goes on. And on. But in the words of the great Freddie Mercury, Don't Stop Me Now!
So what did I do tonight? Well, as I'm typing this, I have a giant pot of applesauce cookin' on the stove, and cooked up a bunch of cabbage and bacon for dinner. I haven't bought meat in probably 9 months, but I just really wanted bacon today, so I got some! Wonderful comfort-y food. I plan to have so much brinner this week. I dealt with some old receipts, cleaned my purse(s), although my desk is still a disaster, and submitted all the payment requests for AHA (I'm the treasurer, despite genuinely being godawful at math). I'm planning to watch a few episodes of Twin Peaks (SO GOOD, I'm a tiny bit obsessed) and head to bed.
But for the moment I am confident that I will get everything done this semester. Yes, I may be writing my theory paper ON Thanksgiving (not-going-to-think-about-it) and I have yet to write any personal statements or request transcripts or GRE scores or...the list goes on. And on. But in the words of the great Freddie Mercury, Don't Stop Me Now!
Friday, 21 October 2011
This Post Is Not Exciting
...but then again, neither am I!
Have been getting some flack from my family lately for having boring updates (they are not wrong) but I also just don't have that much to talk about that is amazingly gripping. So that's why I'm posting right now, even though I have nothing amazingly gripping to tell you. I had a nice day. A fullfilling day. Here's what it was:
--taught my classes in the museum today, while wearing boots with a 3 inch heel. I'm not a heels person. I was bequeathed these boots when a friend moved to Texas and decided not to take them, and they were too cute to be tossed. And, surprisingly comfortable! They allow me to pretend I am tall, and made lovely clacking noises on the wood floors of the museum.
--my students were actually pretty invested in doing visual analysis and I think they had fun. I cracked some Harry Potter jokes and they laughed. They asked tons of questions about adoration of the magi scenes (that's what we were looking at) and actually came up with some theories about a still life and it made me feel like I was actually TEACHING them something. I'm so glad we have the resources to see works in person, it really does make things more exciting. Yes, the works aren't amazing, but I could relate brushwork back to van der Weyden and van Eyck and they GOT the connections. And when we're outside such a strict classroom setting, I feel like I can let some of my generally nerdy-goofy personality out, and bond a little bit, which seemed to happen. Also, two random guys sort of hung out at the back of my class and when we were moving galleries I told them that it wasn't a tour, and that they were welcome to hang out with us but they shouldn't feel obligated, and they said, "oh ok! we just thought you were interesting." Huh.
--met with my advisor, who was supportive about my list of possible PhD schools and basically told me I was on point with everything I needed to be doing, which was very nice. And while I love everyone who has told me over the years about the likelihood of me getting a job (hint: not statistically likely!) or of how hard graduate school is, I am getting just the tiniest bit tired of hearing that. It's true, I know it's true. I can stand not to think about that right now, though. He said none of those things today, and didn't try to talk me out of pursuing a PhD, which was what I needed to hear.
--got an inter-library loan book, all in Italian, and I could read parts of it! It's about 16th century convertite houses in Venice (houses built to hold reformed prostitutes). This probably sounds pretty boring, but I was so stoked.
--came home, discovered that Inspector Lewis (aka the best, most stylish, emotionally wrenching, and funny British detective show around) was available on Netflix, and watched an episode from the comfort of my bed. SUCH a good show. SUCH a good way to spend the late Friday afternoon.
--got dinner at a Mexican restaurant (enchiladas with tomatillo salsa, rice, large-ish margarita) with a few friends and ended up staying for three hours, talking and catching up. We so often revert to art history-related shop-talk that it's nice to not do that for a few hours. Also, Shields and Brooks were on TV in the restaurant and I admitted my never-ending love for both of them and got totally mocked (for good reason--feel free to mock me too). But they're so good! I like watching them talk with Jim Lehrer and be SENSIBLE about things, it makes me feel so much better about politics.
--now I'm back in bed, listening to the Firebird Suite (MMM) getting ready to do a little reading (oh, Friday night! oh, theory! sad) and then go to bed--have pumpkin bread and pumpkin carving related plans for tomorrow, and couldn't be happier about that.
Night!
Have been getting some flack from my family lately for having boring updates (they are not wrong) but I also just don't have that much to talk about that is amazingly gripping. So that's why I'm posting right now, even though I have nothing amazingly gripping to tell you. I had a nice day. A fullfilling day. Here's what it was:
--taught my classes in the museum today, while wearing boots with a 3 inch heel. I'm not a heels person. I was bequeathed these boots when a friend moved to Texas and decided not to take them, and they were too cute to be tossed. And, surprisingly comfortable! They allow me to pretend I am tall, and made lovely clacking noises on the wood floors of the museum.
--my students were actually pretty invested in doing visual analysis and I think they had fun. I cracked some Harry Potter jokes and they laughed. They asked tons of questions about adoration of the magi scenes (that's what we were looking at) and actually came up with some theories about a still life and it made me feel like I was actually TEACHING them something. I'm so glad we have the resources to see works in person, it really does make things more exciting. Yes, the works aren't amazing, but I could relate brushwork back to van der Weyden and van Eyck and they GOT the connections. And when we're outside such a strict classroom setting, I feel like I can let some of my generally nerdy-goofy personality out, and bond a little bit, which seemed to happen. Also, two random guys sort of hung out at the back of my class and when we were moving galleries I told them that it wasn't a tour, and that they were welcome to hang out with us but they shouldn't feel obligated, and they said, "oh ok! we just thought you were interesting." Huh.
--met with my advisor, who was supportive about my list of possible PhD schools and basically told me I was on point with everything I needed to be doing, which was very nice. And while I love everyone who has told me over the years about the likelihood of me getting a job (hint: not statistically likely!) or of how hard graduate school is, I am getting just the tiniest bit tired of hearing that. It's true, I know it's true. I can stand not to think about that right now, though. He said none of those things today, and didn't try to talk me out of pursuing a PhD, which was what I needed to hear.
--got an inter-library loan book, all in Italian, and I could read parts of it! It's about 16th century convertite houses in Venice (houses built to hold reformed prostitutes). This probably sounds pretty boring, but I was so stoked.
--came home, discovered that Inspector Lewis (aka the best, most stylish, emotionally wrenching, and funny British detective show around) was available on Netflix, and watched an episode from the comfort of my bed. SUCH a good show. SUCH a good way to spend the late Friday afternoon.
--got dinner at a Mexican restaurant (enchiladas with tomatillo salsa, rice, large-ish margarita) with a few friends and ended up staying for three hours, talking and catching up. We so often revert to art history-related shop-talk that it's nice to not do that for a few hours. Also, Shields and Brooks were on TV in the restaurant and I admitted my never-ending love for both of them and got totally mocked (for good reason--feel free to mock me too). But they're so good! I like watching them talk with Jim Lehrer and be SENSIBLE about things, it makes me feel so much better about politics.
--now I'm back in bed, listening to the Firebird Suite (MMM) getting ready to do a little reading (oh, Friday night! oh, theory! sad) and then go to bed--have pumpkin bread and pumpkin carving related plans for tomorrow, and couldn't be happier about that.
Night!
Saturday, 15 October 2011
Rewards (and FOOD)
I finished grading my students first papers! (which were a mixed bag, in case you were curious). I was able to do all 50 of them in 4 days, but those 4 days were not overly fun, and involved me going to bed at 2 last night, getting up at 7, and grading until 11 this morning. BUT, they are done, and I celebrated this afternoon by going for a long walk in the crisp fall air, getting a few shirts and a pair of yoga pants at the mall, treating myself to new bodywash (nectarine and ginger! Dove, mmm), and going to Bloomingfoods. There are 3 Bloomingfoods, which is the co-op grocery store, here. I don't go there enough to justify belonging to the co-op, but one of my friends does, so I just use her number (which means she'll get more discounts eventually).
Bloomingfoods is an amazing place, with some phenomenal people watching--it's a fun mix of very, very hippie-types, trendy 20-somethings, and professors. It's also very organic, health-conscious, and therefore usually quite out of my budget. But today was one of their tent sales, where they erect a huge white tent in the parking lot and put all of their overstocked goods out there at really good prices. It's a mad house, especially right when it opens, but it had calmed down a bit by the time I got there. So what did I acquire?
--sweet potato and apple chips
--organic white cheddar popcorn
--pitted dates
--3 honeycrisp apples (I am really, really picky about apples, being from upstate NY and being snobby about apples. Bloomingfoods is one of the few places in town that carries apples that I really like, probably because they are locally grown.)
--German sparkling apple cider
--2 liters of sweet tea
--organic cranberry pecan cookies
--a bar of milk chocolate with lime
--a bar of dark chocolate with chilies
--an Asian pear
--fresh mozzarella
--2 avocados
Cost: $21.
Now, I did indeed just list you my grocery list, most of which was impulse buys, but there you are. Tonight, two of my friends are coming over for dinner--one is making lentil loaf (aka, vegetarian meatloaf), the other is making a grape salad, and I'm making tomato, basil and mozzarella salad, and taking some leftover rice crispies, pouring melted chocolate over it, and sprinkling it with sea salt. We're going to do homework--and really, the best way to do homework is with friends and food. Yesterday I taught for 3 hours, then graded, then went to two lectures back to back (both of which were phenomenally good, on viewing 17th century Dutch art and Iranian posters from the Revolution), and then went out to dinner with three friends, where we all acted very silly. I think probably because most of us had been on campus for 11 hours by that point, and had had to be "academic" all day, so we just sat around giggling about nothing. It was wonderful. Friends and food--those are the rewards I need.
And most importantly, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!
Bloomingfoods is an amazing place, with some phenomenal people watching--it's a fun mix of very, very hippie-types, trendy 20-somethings, and professors. It's also very organic, health-conscious, and therefore usually quite out of my budget. But today was one of their tent sales, where they erect a huge white tent in the parking lot and put all of their overstocked goods out there at really good prices. It's a mad house, especially right when it opens, but it had calmed down a bit by the time I got there. So what did I acquire?
--sweet potato and apple chips
--organic white cheddar popcorn
--pitted dates
--3 honeycrisp apples (I am really, really picky about apples, being from upstate NY and being snobby about apples. Bloomingfoods is one of the few places in town that carries apples that I really like, probably because they are locally grown.)
--German sparkling apple cider
--2 liters of sweet tea
--organic cranberry pecan cookies
--a bar of milk chocolate with lime
--a bar of dark chocolate with chilies
--an Asian pear
--fresh mozzarella
--2 avocados
Cost: $21.
Now, I did indeed just list you my grocery list, most of which was impulse buys, but there you are. Tonight, two of my friends are coming over for dinner--one is making lentil loaf (aka, vegetarian meatloaf), the other is making a grape salad, and I'm making tomato, basil and mozzarella salad, and taking some leftover rice crispies, pouring melted chocolate over it, and sprinkling it with sea salt. We're going to do homework--and really, the best way to do homework is with friends and food. Yesterday I taught for 3 hours, then graded, then went to two lectures back to back (both of which were phenomenally good, on viewing 17th century Dutch art and Iranian posters from the Revolution), and then went out to dinner with three friends, where we all acted very silly. I think probably because most of us had been on campus for 11 hours by that point, and had had to be "academic" all day, so we just sat around giggling about nothing. It was wonderful. Friends and food--those are the rewards I need.
And most importantly, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!
Monday, 10 October 2011
Floundering
I'm here, I really am. And will have fun blog posts coming up soonsoonsoon, I promise--Jon Stewart, and Hair (the American Tribal Love-Rock Musical), and food news and reviews (especially pertaining to corn and other vegetarian delights), and so much more! But for now, bear with me--I'm floundering, mostly in a pile of papers I have yet to grade, research I have not completed (or started), PhD applications that I really need to give some thought (and money) to, and all of the emails and cards from family and friends that I need--and want!!--to respond to. I have so much to do that I realized today that I am not sure I will be able to go home for Thanksgiving, and that would make me indescribably sad.
In spite of school-related crazy, I'm still really happy here, rest assured. One of my best friends from college was here this weekend, and we had a really great time. She's awesome. We ate a lot and drank much cider and football-ed and I re-messed up my ankle but it seems to have healed itself (fingers crossed) and she got to meet my friends here. It was wonderful to see her. I've been getting to school by 8, eating my breakfast in the dark, and trying to stay on top of work, but it is not working out that well. I'm barely keeping up with grading and planning for my students, and have made no progress on *my* work, which is starting to freak me out a bit. Everyone told me grad school would be like this, and it finally is. And that's ok, I just have to figure out my schedule, cut out 90% of the fun things that I do, and keep calm and carry on.
I heard an anecdote once about a German academic from the 18th century (I think) and was rumored to have been crushed by the books in his library. I heard this anecdote from my undergrad advisor, because I told her I was worried about her bookshelves collapsing on her--if you saw her bookshelves, you would understand this fear. So I don't know if it is true, but in any case, it is an acceptable analogy for many academics. I'm not to the crushing point yet, although the books are lookin' a little wobbly. But if I do get buried by them, at least I'll have something to read.
So bear with me. Send me scholarly vibes, and I'll be writing very soon--I have NO social plans this weekend for the first time since August and am actually rather delighted about it, so there may be some blogging coming your way!
In spite of school-related crazy, I'm still really happy here, rest assured. One of my best friends from college was here this weekend, and we had a really great time. She's awesome. We ate a lot and drank much cider and football-ed and I re-messed up my ankle but it seems to have healed itself (fingers crossed) and she got to meet my friends here. It was wonderful to see her. I've been getting to school by 8, eating my breakfast in the dark, and trying to stay on top of work, but it is not working out that well. I'm barely keeping up with grading and planning for my students, and have made no progress on *my* work, which is starting to freak me out a bit. Everyone told me grad school would be like this, and it finally is. And that's ok, I just have to figure out my schedule, cut out 90% of the fun things that I do, and keep calm and carry on.
I heard an anecdote once about a German academic from the 18th century (I think) and was rumored to have been crushed by the books in his library. I heard this anecdote from my undergrad advisor, because I told her I was worried about her bookshelves collapsing on her--if you saw her bookshelves, you would understand this fear. So I don't know if it is true, but in any case, it is an acceptable analogy for many academics. I'm not to the crushing point yet, although the books are lookin' a little wobbly. But if I do get buried by them, at least I'll have something to read.
So bear with me. Send me scholarly vibes, and I'll be writing very soon--I have NO social plans this weekend for the first time since August and am actually rather delighted about it, so there may be some blogging coming your way!
Wednesday, 28 September 2011
The Early Bird
If you know me well, you know that I am not a morning person. I'm actually not a late night person either. I'm the most productive at around 10 am, and my ideal wake-up time is therefore at about 8, with my ideal bedtime at around 11:30. Yet, this morning I decided to try something else--I set my alarm for 6:20 (mergh) and was on campus by 7:30. And it was actually...really great. It was the perfect early morning cool temperature on my walk through campus, the art building was deserted so I got to crank Regina Spektor in my office, I printed 8 articles without having to wait for a printer, and managed to lesson plan some powerpoints before class at 9.
The reason behind going to campus in the dark was that I've become really unproductive at night. I blame the fact that I'm usually on campus for 8-9 hours straight a day now, and when I get to my apartment I either immediately go for a long walk or watch 30 Rock (which is now on syndication, no good), before making dinner, and climbing into bed with a mystery, crossword puzzle, or phone (or all 3).
Since I got to campus at 7:30, I didn't feel bad about not going back after a hair appointment at 3. I had the blue streak in my hair touched up, which meant that I got to sit there for 45 minutes and read cheeseball celebrity magazines, and then got my hair washed and dried and went on my way. I've said it before and I'll say it again: if I ever become a fascist dictator (unlikely), the only perk I want is a daily head massage and hair washing. I went grocery shopping, entered some grades, ate some quiche, and am watching 30 Rock (of course) as I type this. Tomorrow is full of meetings, lesson plans, laundry--and I'm ok with that.
And on that note, it is 8:30, and my bed is calling.
Edited: I did not go to bed at 8:30 (it's 10:15ish now). Instead, I ate some ice cream, a friend popped by for a visit, I talked on the phone, dealt with some dirty dishes, and jumped around on my exercise ball for a bit. For real going to bed now though! (Might push my alarm back to 7, hmm.)
The reason behind going to campus in the dark was that I've become really unproductive at night. I blame the fact that I'm usually on campus for 8-9 hours straight a day now, and when I get to my apartment I either immediately go for a long walk or watch 30 Rock (which is now on syndication, no good), before making dinner, and climbing into bed with a mystery, crossword puzzle, or phone (or all 3).
Since I got to campus at 7:30, I didn't feel bad about not going back after a hair appointment at 3. I had the blue streak in my hair touched up, which meant that I got to sit there for 45 minutes and read cheeseball celebrity magazines, and then got my hair washed and dried and went on my way. I've said it before and I'll say it again: if I ever become a fascist dictator (unlikely), the only perk I want is a daily head massage and hair washing. I went grocery shopping, entered some grades, ate some quiche, and am watching 30 Rock (of course) as I type this. Tomorrow is full of meetings, lesson plans, laundry--and I'm ok with that.
And on that note, it is 8:30, and my bed is calling.
Edited: I did not go to bed at 8:30 (it's 10:15ish now). Instead, I ate some ice cream, a friend popped by for a visit, I talked on the phone, dealt with some dirty dishes, and jumped around on my exercise ball for a bit. For real going to bed now though! (Might push my alarm back to 7, hmm.)
Wednesday, 14 September 2011
Routines
Sometimes, life as a grad student is exciting and challenging, and those times are fun. And sometimes life as a grad student is super mundane and busy, and those times are usually a little less fun. The past few days have fallen under the second category, but I would be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy it. Take today, for instance:
--sat in on Art 102, Renaissance to Modern, which is the class I am associate instructor for. I like this professor a lot--he's an oddball, but he has a good sense of humor and is seriously smart (rumor has it he trolls on Jstor and reads articles to find grammatical errors, for fun), and he has been remarkably helpful to me as I start to teach for the first time. Today we were talking about Northern Altarpieces, which is one of his research interests, and it was great. I'm learning a lot from this class, actually, as I never took 102 as an undergrad (weird) and have never been that exposed to Northern Renaissance art. And as some of you have told me over the years, Northern art is amazing. It is. And the professor even cracked some David Sedaris jokes today, so what's not to love?
--did errands, ate lunch with a friend, and sat in on the professor's section of the class in the puzzle library. I am taking my three classes there on Friday. So I've gushed on here before about the rare books library and how it is mind-blowingly great, but it turns out we are also the only academic institution in the United States to have a puzzle collection, which is also housed in the rare books library. A man donated all his puzzles to us (he'd been collecting since 1939), because he wanted them to be housed in a place where people could actually use them. It was cool to watch the students, especially when they figured out something. A few goals in this class are to get them to 1. visually tackle problems, and 2. realize that sometimes the things that look really simple have hidden complexities, and that prolonged study and looking are not bad things. Either way, unlike in a museum you actually get to touch things. Intrigued? I finally figured out how to solve this one today:
Also try this on for size: a regular coke bottle with a wooden arrow stuck through two rectangular holes in the size. The arrow is one solid piece of wood. How did it get there? I thought I had a good theory but the professor shot it down.
--was in my office (I have a shared office! How cool--nerdy--is that?) and suddenly there was crashing from the secretaries office down the hall. My office-mate went to check it out, and it was the secretary, the Byzantine art professor, and my advisor playing ring toss. My advisor is pretty proper, so this is especially awesome, especially since it turns out that he is pretty good at it.
--went and got my hair cut which was a relaxing time. I got the purple streak in my hair dyed blue and so had to sit around and read People magazine while it set (I mean, I could have read my theory homework, but I have my priorities straight). My hairdresser is super cool (she is also a hen farmer, and has some great tattoos) AND I hedonistically love having other people wash my hair, so that was good.
--am now baking a peach cobbler, writing cards, and getting ready to start some reading.
My mom and my sister visited last week, which was great (so much eating out in awesome ethnic restaurants! so much shopping at cute stores! so much wandering around the town square and poking around in used bookshops!) and I have some really amazing weekends coming up, so it's not like my life is totally uneventful. Happily, so far, this year is reinforcing some things for me--that I want to (attempt) to get a PhD and that I want to teach. I've only had 2 days of solo teaching so far--3 classes each, back to back, with about 56 students total--but it turns out that I both like it and am not terrible at it, so that is nice. For now, though, I'm happy to have intellectually stimulating and busy days, as long as there is enough silliness thrown in too. So far, so good.
ALSO: blog housekeeping! Have added two blogs to my sidebar and y'all should check them out. One is by my sister as she navigates post-college life (with her usual wittiness): http://hueandcaste.tumblr.com/ And the other is by my sister's college roomate and Bloomington native, who is starting grad school in Cardiff, Wales next week for art conservation: http://talesofwales.tumblr.com/
--sat in on Art 102, Renaissance to Modern, which is the class I am associate instructor for. I like this professor a lot--he's an oddball, but he has a good sense of humor and is seriously smart (rumor has it he trolls on Jstor and reads articles to find grammatical errors, for fun), and he has been remarkably helpful to me as I start to teach for the first time. Today we were talking about Northern Altarpieces, which is one of his research interests, and it was great. I'm learning a lot from this class, actually, as I never took 102 as an undergrad (weird) and have never been that exposed to Northern Renaissance art. And as some of you have told me over the years, Northern art is amazing. It is. And the professor even cracked some David Sedaris jokes today, so what's not to love?
--did errands, ate lunch with a friend, and sat in on the professor's section of the class in the puzzle library. I am taking my three classes there on Friday. So I've gushed on here before about the rare books library and how it is mind-blowingly great, but it turns out we are also the only academic institution in the United States to have a puzzle collection, which is also housed in the rare books library. A man donated all his puzzles to us (he'd been collecting since 1939), because he wanted them to be housed in a place where people could actually use them. It was cool to watch the students, especially when they figured out something. A few goals in this class are to get them to 1. visually tackle problems, and 2. realize that sometimes the things that look really simple have hidden complexities, and that prolonged study and looking are not bad things. Either way, unlike in a museum you actually get to touch things. Intrigued? I finally figured out how to solve this one today:
Also try this on for size: a regular coke bottle with a wooden arrow stuck through two rectangular holes in the size. The arrow is one solid piece of wood. How did it get there? I thought I had a good theory but the professor shot it down.
--was in my office (I have a shared office! How cool--nerdy--is that?) and suddenly there was crashing from the secretaries office down the hall. My office-mate went to check it out, and it was the secretary, the Byzantine art professor, and my advisor playing ring toss. My advisor is pretty proper, so this is especially awesome, especially since it turns out that he is pretty good at it.
--went and got my hair cut which was a relaxing time. I got the purple streak in my hair dyed blue and so had to sit around and read People magazine while it set (I mean, I could have read my theory homework, but I have my priorities straight). My hairdresser is super cool (she is also a hen farmer, and has some great tattoos) AND I hedonistically love having other people wash my hair, so that was good.
--am now baking a peach cobbler, writing cards, and getting ready to start some reading.
My mom and my sister visited last week, which was great (so much eating out in awesome ethnic restaurants! so much shopping at cute stores! so much wandering around the town square and poking around in used bookshops!) and I have some really amazing weekends coming up, so it's not like my life is totally uneventful. Happily, so far, this year is reinforcing some things for me--that I want to (attempt) to get a PhD and that I want to teach. I've only had 2 days of solo teaching so far--3 classes each, back to back, with about 56 students total--but it turns out that I both like it and am not terrible at it, so that is nice. For now, though, I'm happy to have intellectually stimulating and busy days, as long as there is enough silliness thrown in too. So far, so good.
ALSO: blog housekeeping! Have added two blogs to my sidebar and y'all should check them out. One is by my sister as she navigates post-college life (with her usual wittiness): http://hueandcaste.tumblr.com/ And the other is by my sister's college roomate and Bloomington native, who is starting grad school in Cardiff, Wales next week for art conservation: http://talesofwales.tumblr.com/
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
Minutiae
Today involved:
--going with my supervising professor and the other associate instructor to visit the puzzle collection at the rare books library. We got to spend time in the puzzle curator's office (sidenote: WE HAVE A PUZZLE CURATOR!? how awesome is that!) and talk about puzzles. I solved two, but it took a pathetically long time. This professor is really, really into puzzles, and teaches a class on toys (I will not take it, because you have to perform yo-yo tricks, and that is not in my skill set..neither is puzzle solving in general, really.) We're taking our sections to puzzle it out next week! (the analogy to an art history class being that sometimes art is complex, even though it may appear simplistic, and that we have to feel things out using our senses.) I think it should be fun. I need to practice between now and then, though.
--a jaunt downtown to do errands, where I ate a wheat and local honey bagel with pumpkin cream cheese. I am very loyal to NY bagels, but there is one place here that is good (David Sedaris likes it, which is good enough for me), and the pumpkin cream cheese was most excellent.
--I am taking a seminar on Renaissance Venice, and today we spent the entire time talking about San Marco and looking at maps. I love Venetian art. I love San Marco. I love looking at 15th century maps. I really, really want to go to Venice. I have a very, very soft-spot for a Venetian art class which I took as an undergrad--it was a stupendously good class. I think this one will be good in different ways, so I can live with that.
--After that, I went out to dinner with six friends. We went to an Italian restaurant, and I had an old-fashioned (not very Italian, but my throat still hurts and whiskey is good for that, or so I justified it) and papardelle (wide-ish noodles) with chicken, mushrooms, and a garlic sauce. It was nice, since I got to see some people that I haven't talked to much since the summer, so it was good to catch up.
--I went for an hour long walk through the 'burbs on my side of town at twilight. I got slightly lost (there are a lot of cul-de-sacs over here!) but I navigated myself out, and the sky was wonderful at sunset, especially as I was listening to the Planets Suite.
Any Tuesday that involves all these things is a good Tuesday indeed!
--going with my supervising professor and the other associate instructor to visit the puzzle collection at the rare books library. We got to spend time in the puzzle curator's office (sidenote: WE HAVE A PUZZLE CURATOR!? how awesome is that!) and talk about puzzles. I solved two, but it took a pathetically long time. This professor is really, really into puzzles, and teaches a class on toys (I will not take it, because you have to perform yo-yo tricks, and that is not in my skill set..neither is puzzle solving in general, really.) We're taking our sections to puzzle it out next week! (the analogy to an art history class being that sometimes art is complex, even though it may appear simplistic, and that we have to feel things out using our senses.) I think it should be fun. I need to practice between now and then, though.
--a jaunt downtown to do errands, where I ate a wheat and local honey bagel with pumpkin cream cheese. I am very loyal to NY bagels, but there is one place here that is good (David Sedaris likes it, which is good enough for me), and the pumpkin cream cheese was most excellent.
--I am taking a seminar on Renaissance Venice, and today we spent the entire time talking about San Marco and looking at maps. I love Venetian art. I love San Marco. I love looking at 15th century maps. I really, really want to go to Venice. I have a very, very soft-spot for a Venetian art class which I took as an undergrad--it was a stupendously good class. I think this one will be good in different ways, so I can live with that.
--After that, I went out to dinner with six friends. We went to an Italian restaurant, and I had an old-fashioned (not very Italian, but my throat still hurts and whiskey is good for that, or so I justified it) and papardelle (wide-ish noodles) with chicken, mushrooms, and a garlic sauce. It was nice, since I got to see some people that I haven't talked to much since the summer, so it was good to catch up.
--I went for an hour long walk through the 'burbs on my side of town at twilight. I got slightly lost (there are a lot of cul-de-sacs over here!) but I navigated myself out, and the sky was wonderful at sunset, especially as I was listening to the Planets Suite.
Any Tuesday that involves all these things is a good Tuesday indeed!
Sunday, 4 September 2011
The End of an Era, and the Beginning of Others
I haven't been blogging much for the past few weeks, but it has been for good reasons--namely, that I was too busy having fun with family and friends at home! I also took the (financial and mental) plunge and replaced my six year old IBM with a MacBook Pro, and am still (SLOWLY) figuring that out. Then I flew back to Indiana in some hurricane rain a week ago, started classes, my cousin flew in for a visit, I got sick (the third day of the semester! personal best or worst?), so my cousin's visit was basically spent with her making me tea and jello, me napping, and us watching the entire series of Generation Kill. I taught the first sections of my class and survived to tell the tale--they went pretty well, actually, although I sort of over-dosed on cough drops in order to be able to speak. My cousin left (and I miss her!) and we had our annual art history picnic and I was so tired that I went to bed last night (Saturday) at 10:30, and slept for 11 hours. But the most important thing that happened in the past few weeks was this:
One of my best friends got married.
It was a busy, crazy, fun few days, as it was also sort of a college reunion as well as a wedding. It was a small wedding that the bride and groom basically planned and executed all on their own, because they are super talented and craft-y! There were 5 of us, including the bride, who all met in college, and it was the first time in over a year that we had all been together. One way in which you can tell that you are with good friends is that you get back together and it feels like nothing has changed. We're all spread out (although I'm the only non-East Coaster now), but still close. I wish I could see them all more, but we make do, and for now that is ok--and it just makes our reunions that much better.
Here is the (abbreviated) story about why this wedding and bride (T) are so important to me. I pretty much hated college for most of my first semester. My roommate and I got along really well, but she went home every weekend, so I was frequently bored, homesick, and wasn't making many friends. But then I met T through a mutual friend and immediately thought she was cool. She had really eclectic and awesome clothes, she was nice and super smart, and she was kind of a rebel. Case in point: we all had to go to this (stupid and sexist) rape training where they gave us whistles, and she blew her "rape whistle" in the hall of our dorm, which we were NOT supposed to do, and she did it because someone told her not to. Another case in point: two years later, when I was studying abroad in England, she stole some plastic grapes from the Studio dept. and mailed them to me. (Is it bad that I'm sharing this story on the internet? I still have the grapes and could return them, although I won't.)
Shortly after our first meeting we started hanging out a lot, and it turned out we had similar tastes in humor, books, and movies. We watched all of the Winter Olympics that year (despite not being big on sports, I LOVE the Olympics, and T is an ice skating fanatic), and after that we were friends. She was one of the reasons why I came to feel comfortable at college, she taught me how to purl, how awesome Ricky Gervais is, and the proper way to decorate sugar cookies. After college, we both had mind-numbing desk jobs for a year, and emailed each other near-constantly. Most of our conversations now occur in text form (neither of us being big phone talkers) with occasional calls and letters thrown in for good measure. I value her opinion more than I do many other people. Being there for her wedding was something that was very important to me.
At the same time that it was a joyous and lovely occassion, there was still a little selfish voice in my head, which kept whispering, "change, change, change." Although I have two other close friends who are engaged, this was my first close friend who has gotten married, and it is wonderful that is she is so happy, but afterward I kept thinking about distance and growing apart, for all of us. As we develop our own lives outside of college, will we remain friends? Or will life and grown-up responsibilities take over? I am quite confident that we will still be friends, but then I look at my parents, who so infrequently talk to their college friends, and I don't want that to happen. Maybe when you are in your mid-20s, as I am, change seems more scary than inevitable. I don't know.
Change can be great, of course, and it frequently is. But it hasn't seemed so this year. My grandmother died in April, and although I am finally able to go grocery shopping and look at the buttermilk without crying, I can't watch Jeopardy or the Weather Channel without feeling like someone punched me in the stomach. At the same time, I'm not sure I want that feeling to go away--I don't want to forget her. I think eventually there will be the remembrance without the sadness, but it hasn't happened yet. My grandmother had been the matriarch for the past 35 years, and things are different now. I'm not used to it.
In a less profound example of changing, Harry Potter ended, at least officially. And it was weird for me. I genuinely enjoy the books, not enough to read them over and over, but they were an indelible part of my childhood. They were also one of the first things that T and I bonded over when we first met. Harry Potter has been a constant in my life, a cultural touchstone that has linked me to my friends from home, from college, and from grad school. That first semester of college, whenever my roommate or I were sad we were turn on our Christmas lights, make a pot of tea, and read Harry Potter, and everything seemed ok. I have no book now that will do that.
This post is about change, but the wedding was at its core about love: between a couple, between friends, and between families. It happened the same weekend as a horrible hurricane, which seemed to highlight our luck--that we were safe, that our loved ones were safe, and that we all had each other. The night before the wedding, we had a pseudo-bachelorette party (if you know the bride, you'd know how lame she would think a bachelorette party would be) where we painted mugs with the 8 year-old junior bridesmaid (who is also T's niece). Out of the blue, the bridesmaid asked, with great concentration, "why is college the best time of peoples lives?" We looked at her. She continued, "people always say that college was the best time of their life. Why?" We thought about it for awhile, and came up with some reasons. It's the first time you're away from your parents, and you can sort of make your own decisions. You have more freedom in what classes you take, so you can (hopefully!) find something that you love and are passionate about. And you make really good friends.
Monday, 1 August 2011
Weekend Firsts
Here are some things that I did this weekend for the first time ever, some of which I may never do again.
Went Indoor Rock Climbing
A friend of mine is into this, so another friend and I went with him. We signed a bunch of wavers, rented climbing shoes (which are different from gym shoes in that the toes are deliberately stiff since you have to perch on those little toeholds), and headed into the climbing room. It's not very tall here, only about 12 feet probably, so they don't do harnesses. One wall was straight up (and was therefore a bit easier) and the other one curved. Both had routes taped out for you to follow, some being a lot harder than others.
Now, as it transpired, I am genuinely terrible at rock climbing. Part of it is not my fault--it is a sport which is much better for long-limbed, slender people, and I am 5"3' on a good day, and spectacularly ungraceful to boot. I could not finish any of the routes, because the last move is usually to pull yourself up and I just do not have long enough arms! And my arm muscles are pretty nonexistent. When I told my father how bad I was, he said, "of course you were honey, you don't have any upper body strength," and he's right. This is a different type of upper-body strength too, centered in your forearms and wrists, which are muscles that get neglected when I go to the gym! My arms hurt so much the day after that I had to turn my head upside down to wash my hair since I couldn't raise my arms. It was still fun, mostly because some of the other people were really good--one guy was climbing with just his hands! And, I chalked my hands, so I didn't get any blisters.
Fell off the Rock Wall
Did I mention that I'm really ungraceful? I got better at switching my feet on a toehold, but the first few times I fell, which wasn't a big deal as a large part of this is dropping off the wall when you're done. But the last time, I was standing about 5 or 6 feet off the floor (I had gotten better as the day went on, so this is the highest I was standing), and fell. And landed on my ankle. I thought it was fine--I'm no stranger to rolling my ankles--but then we went garage-saleing and I walked to the grocery store and went out that night and it swelled up. I iced yesterday and have been elevating today, but it's pretty puffy. It doesn't hurt if I'm just walking, but stairs are pretty painful, as is flexing my foot. So, rock climbing may not, in fact, be the sport for me.
Made Pie Crust
I made blueberry pie yesterday and made pie crust for the first time without my mother's direct supervision and it turned out quite well! The pie hadn't set fully before I cut it so it was a bit of a mess, but it was tasty. Photographic evidence: (we consumed half the pie before I got my camera out)
Played Table Shuffleboard
We went to a bar which we don't usually frequent, because during the school year it is filled to the GILLS with hipsters. It's a nice place though, and less crowded in the summer, which is nice. The reasons for its popularity are the games they have: skeeball and table shuffleboard, as well as really decently priced drinks. I got pretty good at regular shuffleboard in high school, and usually say that I am the best at sports which your average 75-year-old could play, i.e. shuffleboard, bocce, ping pong, and badminton. Table Shuffleboard is the same concept as regular, you just use your hand instead of a stick thing. It was really fun. THAT is a sport which I can do!
I also bought some boots and a shirt at a friend's garage sale, studied Arabic, watched Jeeves and Wooster, and cleaned my apartment. And, as always, the weekend was not quite long enough.
Went Indoor Rock Climbing
A friend of mine is into this, so another friend and I went with him. We signed a bunch of wavers, rented climbing shoes (which are different from gym shoes in that the toes are deliberately stiff since you have to perch on those little toeholds), and headed into the climbing room. It's not very tall here, only about 12 feet probably, so they don't do harnesses. One wall was straight up (and was therefore a bit easier) and the other one curved. Both had routes taped out for you to follow, some being a lot harder than others.
Now, as it transpired, I am genuinely terrible at rock climbing. Part of it is not my fault--it is a sport which is much better for long-limbed, slender people, and I am 5"3' on a good day, and spectacularly ungraceful to boot. I could not finish any of the routes, because the last move is usually to pull yourself up and I just do not have long enough arms! And my arm muscles are pretty nonexistent. When I told my father how bad I was, he said, "of course you were honey, you don't have any upper body strength," and he's right. This is a different type of upper-body strength too, centered in your forearms and wrists, which are muscles that get neglected when I go to the gym! My arms hurt so much the day after that I had to turn my head upside down to wash my hair since I couldn't raise my arms. It was still fun, mostly because some of the other people were really good--one guy was climbing with just his hands! And, I chalked my hands, so I didn't get any blisters.
Fell off the Rock Wall
Did I mention that I'm really ungraceful? I got better at switching my feet on a toehold, but the first few times I fell, which wasn't a big deal as a large part of this is dropping off the wall when you're done. But the last time, I was standing about 5 or 6 feet off the floor (I had gotten better as the day went on, so this is the highest I was standing), and fell. And landed on my ankle. I thought it was fine--I'm no stranger to rolling my ankles--but then we went garage-saleing and I walked to the grocery store and went out that night and it swelled up. I iced yesterday and have been elevating today, but it's pretty puffy. It doesn't hurt if I'm just walking, but stairs are pretty painful, as is flexing my foot. So, rock climbing may not, in fact, be the sport for me.
Made Pie Crust
I made blueberry pie yesterday and made pie crust for the first time without my mother's direct supervision and it turned out quite well! The pie hadn't set fully before I cut it so it was a bit of a mess, but it was tasty. Photographic evidence: (we consumed half the pie before I got my camera out)
Played Table Shuffleboard
We went to a bar which we don't usually frequent, because during the school year it is filled to the GILLS with hipsters. It's a nice place though, and less crowded in the summer, which is nice. The reasons for its popularity are the games they have: skeeball and table shuffleboard, as well as really decently priced drinks. I got pretty good at regular shuffleboard in high school, and usually say that I am the best at sports which your average 75-year-old could play, i.e. shuffleboard, bocce, ping pong, and badminton. Table Shuffleboard is the same concept as regular, you just use your hand instead of a stick thing. It was really fun. THAT is a sport which I can do!
I also bought some boots and a shirt at a friend's garage sale, studied Arabic, watched Jeeves and Wooster, and cleaned my apartment. And, as always, the weekend was not quite long enough.
Saturday, 9 July 2011
Isfahan, Pie, and Saturday Adventures
Another perfect, Midwestern-y, Bloomington-y Saturday. Why? Well, I shall tell you!
We went to the Farmer's Market as per usual and finally, finally, finally PEACHES are here! I got a small basket (there were 9 in it) from a very nice Amish man. I know he was nice, not only because he had a nice smile, but also because two little girls were looking at some peaches next to me and both were holding some rocks (they were probably about 3 and 5 years old). And he said to them, "how would you like to trade one of your rocks for one of my peaches?" and they looked at their dad and he said, "ok," and so they did. Sometimes people make me very happy.
Then we each got a perfect onion (seriously, it is the most beautiful onion I've ever seen), and I got green beans and a small bag of kettle corn, which a couple in plain dress cooks in a big big kettle (well duh) every week. My friends also got local honey, zucchinis, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Then we went to an Indian buffet. There are (I think) 3 Indian restaurants in town and now I have been to all 3. This one is the most cost effective, but not the tastiest. Still and all, though, good naan, good saag aloo, and quite a good variety of dishes for a lunch buffet.
We parted ways, and two of us walked across campus to get to our bus stop. When we got there, there was a woman waiting for the bus who needed to get to Target, but wasn't sure what bus to take, or if she was in the right spot (she was). We got to chatting, and she said she was from Iran and had been here for 4 days. She'll be here for a month before applying for a research visa to start a post-doc in African-American literature here in the fall. She asked me how old I was and when I said 24, she asked if I was married. And I said no (my friend had just taken a phone call so she missed this) and the woman told me that I was too young to get married anyway. "Get your degree first," she said, nodding. "That's what I did with my masters, and then I got married, and had twins. They are 12 now, and back in Iran with their father." She got her PhD in India, teaches in Tehran, and likes studying African-American women, "because we are women, and so we should be feminists. yes?" (we said yes, too.)
We told her we were studying art history, and that we had just taken an Islamic art class and were interested in that. So she started telling us about visiting Isfahan and what it is like now, which was VERY exciting as Isfahan is straight-up awesome. I now pull out my trusty class notebook to tell you that Isfahan was the capital of Safavid Iran from 1590ish-1722 (and is now the 3rd largest city in Iran). It was known as the "pearl of Persia," and is kind of equivalent (except bigger and more awesome) to Versailles in terms of gilt, grandeur, and grandiosity. According to an official chronicler named Iskandar Beg Munshi, "Isfahan is half the world they say/but by saying so, they only go halfway." In other words: once you saw Isfahan, especially in the 17th century, you didn't need to see anything else. Everything else paled in comparison.
Most importantly, images!
This is the Mosque of Shaykh Lutfullah (1603-1619). This was the second mosque there, and we're not quite sure why there were two. Possibly it was a mosque specifically for women, but it was more likely a private mosque for royals, as a tunnel connected it to the palace. It looks an awful lot like the Dome of the Rock, which very well could have been intentional. It is completely cloaked in blue and gold tile work, and there is stucco-designs on the windows so it looks like stained glass. Some interior shots:
This is the Music Room, or Chini-Khane (China Room), which I believe was located in the palace. This is where the displays of art were, well, displayed. It was a trophy room and proto-museum, which symbolized, through art collecting, the far-reaching power of the Safavids.
Speaking of far-reaching power, this room is one of the "mirror rooms," and it was furnished in Venetian glass. Which, for an Italianist like myself, is pretty exciting! Also, I weirdly just found out there is a Duke Ellington suite called "Isfahan." Check it out here.
Our bus came, and our new friend (whose name we never learned) attempted to get in the back door of the bus, while telling us to "tell the bus driver that I want to go to the Target." So I was on the sidewalk telling her that she wanted the other bus that stopped there, and that it would be there soon, and there were maps on it, and to get in the front door when the bus got there, while my friend tried to stall the bus driver, who CLEARLY saw me, but shut the door and started to pull away. So I had to jog after it and tap on the door and dive on. And then we took seats and dissolved into giggles.
The rest of the day was spent lounging about, having long phone chats with various family members (including my super cousin who got to see Jeter's 3000 hit today in person! most excellent), and making PIE. I love pie. It is (if I had to pick) my favorite dessert. I love how they look, I love the fruit, I love apple pie with cheese and pecan pie with nothing, and I have not, until today, made a pie on my own. One of my best friends from college works in a pie shop, so she was always in charge of them, and both my mother and sister are great at making pies, so I can usually just enjoy the fruits of other peoples labors. Today I did peach (with my market peaches!) and it turned out quite well. It was less runny than I was expecting, although I think I need a remedial lattice making class! Photographic evidence:
Also, if anyone has a foolproof crust making method, let me know it, please. I used refrigerated dough, which is fine, but I'd love to make my own. The problem is that I have about a foot of available counter space, so rolling out doesn't work very well.
So, pie. Summer. Friends. A slight sunburn. It doesn't get much better than that. And if you are interested in more things pie related, check out Pie in the Sky, a Brit TV show from the mid-90s about a policeman who retires to open a restaurant and keep chickens in the backyard but who solves crimes on the side. Or Pushing Daisies, a really great TV show about a piemaker--the dreamy Lee Pace--who owns the Pie Hole pie-restaurant and has the ability to bring the dead back to life for limited amounts of time. He teams up with a private investigator to solve crimes, since he can ask the victims what happened to them. Kristin Chenowith is the waitress. Jim Dale narrates. Delightful. Or Waitress, a sweet and sad movie about pie, babies, abuse, waitressing, and love. To quote Waitress:
"Baby don't you cry, gonna make a pie, gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle/Baby don't be blue, gonna make for you, gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle/Gonna make a pie from heaven above, gonna be filled with strawberry love/Baby don't you cry, gonna make a pie, and hold you forever in the middle of my heart."
We went to the Farmer's Market as per usual and finally, finally, finally PEACHES are here! I got a small basket (there were 9 in it) from a very nice Amish man. I know he was nice, not only because he had a nice smile, but also because two little girls were looking at some peaches next to me and both were holding some rocks (they were probably about 3 and 5 years old). And he said to them, "how would you like to trade one of your rocks for one of my peaches?" and they looked at their dad and he said, "ok," and so they did. Sometimes people make me very happy.
Then we each got a perfect onion (seriously, it is the most beautiful onion I've ever seen), and I got green beans and a small bag of kettle corn, which a couple in plain dress cooks in a big big kettle (well duh) every week. My friends also got local honey, zucchinis, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Then we went to an Indian buffet. There are (I think) 3 Indian restaurants in town and now I have been to all 3. This one is the most cost effective, but not the tastiest. Still and all, though, good naan, good saag aloo, and quite a good variety of dishes for a lunch buffet.
We parted ways, and two of us walked across campus to get to our bus stop. When we got there, there was a woman waiting for the bus who needed to get to Target, but wasn't sure what bus to take, or if she was in the right spot (she was). We got to chatting, and she said she was from Iran and had been here for 4 days. She'll be here for a month before applying for a research visa to start a post-doc in African-American literature here in the fall. She asked me how old I was and when I said 24, she asked if I was married. And I said no (my friend had just taken a phone call so she missed this) and the woman told me that I was too young to get married anyway. "Get your degree first," she said, nodding. "That's what I did with my masters, and then I got married, and had twins. They are 12 now, and back in Iran with their father." She got her PhD in India, teaches in Tehran, and likes studying African-American women, "because we are women, and so we should be feminists. yes?" (we said yes, too.)
We told her we were studying art history, and that we had just taken an Islamic art class and were interested in that. So she started telling us about visiting Isfahan and what it is like now, which was VERY exciting as Isfahan is straight-up awesome. I now pull out my trusty class notebook to tell you that Isfahan was the capital of Safavid Iran from 1590ish-1722 (and is now the 3rd largest city in Iran). It was known as the "pearl of Persia," and is kind of equivalent (except bigger and more awesome) to Versailles in terms of gilt, grandeur, and grandiosity. According to an official chronicler named Iskandar Beg Munshi, "Isfahan is half the world they say/but by saying so, they only go halfway." In other words: once you saw Isfahan, especially in the 17th century, you didn't need to see anything else. Everything else paled in comparison.
Most importantly, images!
This is the Mosque of Shaykh Lutfullah (1603-1619). This was the second mosque there, and we're not quite sure why there were two. Possibly it was a mosque specifically for women, but it was more likely a private mosque for royals, as a tunnel connected it to the palace. It looks an awful lot like the Dome of the Rock, which very well could have been intentional. It is completely cloaked in blue and gold tile work, and there is stucco-designs on the windows so it looks like stained glass. Some interior shots:
This is the Music Room, or Chini-Khane (China Room), which I believe was located in the palace. This is where the displays of art were, well, displayed. It was a trophy room and proto-museum, which symbolized, through art collecting, the far-reaching power of the Safavids.
Speaking of far-reaching power, this room is one of the "mirror rooms," and it was furnished in Venetian glass. Which, for an Italianist like myself, is pretty exciting! Also, I weirdly just found out there is a Duke Ellington suite called "Isfahan." Check it out here.Our bus came, and our new friend (whose name we never learned) attempted to get in the back door of the bus, while telling us to "tell the bus driver that I want to go to the Target." So I was on the sidewalk telling her that she wanted the other bus that stopped there, and that it would be there soon, and there were maps on it, and to get in the front door when the bus got there, while my friend tried to stall the bus driver, who CLEARLY saw me, but shut the door and started to pull away. So I had to jog after it and tap on the door and dive on. And then we took seats and dissolved into giggles.
The rest of the day was spent lounging about, having long phone chats with various family members (including my super cousin who got to see Jeter's 3000 hit today in person! most excellent), and making PIE. I love pie. It is (if I had to pick) my favorite dessert. I love how they look, I love the fruit, I love apple pie with cheese and pecan pie with nothing, and I have not, until today, made a pie on my own. One of my best friends from college works in a pie shop, so she was always in charge of them, and both my mother and sister are great at making pies, so I can usually just enjoy the fruits of other peoples labors. Today I did peach (with my market peaches!) and it turned out quite well. It was less runny than I was expecting, although I think I need a remedial lattice making class! Photographic evidence:
Also, if anyone has a foolproof crust making method, let me know it, please. I used refrigerated dough, which is fine, but I'd love to make my own. The problem is that I have about a foot of available counter space, so rolling out doesn't work very well.So, pie. Summer. Friends. A slight sunburn. It doesn't get much better than that. And if you are interested in more things pie related, check out Pie in the Sky, a Brit TV show from the mid-90s about a policeman who retires to open a restaurant and keep chickens in the backyard but who solves crimes on the side. Or Pushing Daisies, a really great TV show about a piemaker--the dreamy Lee Pace--who owns the Pie Hole pie-restaurant and has the ability to bring the dead back to life for limited amounts of time. He teams up with a private investigator to solve crimes, since he can ask the victims what happened to them. Kristin Chenowith is the waitress. Jim Dale narrates. Delightful. Or Waitress, a sweet and sad movie about pie, babies, abuse, waitressing, and love. To quote Waitress:
"Baby don't you cry, gonna make a pie, gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle/Baby don't be blue, gonna make for you, gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle/Gonna make a pie from heaven above, gonna be filled with strawberry love/Baby don't you cry, gonna make a pie, and hold you forever in the middle of my heart."
Thursday, 7 July 2011
Successes and Failures of the Day
Success 1: I read a poem in Arabic in front of my class.
Actually, I read two stanzas of a poem, rather than all five, because we were running out of time, but still. Four weeks ago I couldn't read the alphabet, so I'm rather pleased. And here is the poem (in English!), lest you were curious:
This Is Forgetfulness by Mahmoud Darwish
This is forgetfulness around you: billboards
awakening the past, urging remembrance. Reigning in
the speeding time at traffic lights,
and closing up the squares
A marble statue is forgetfulness. A statue
staring at you: Stand up as I do to look like me.
And place roses on my feet
A hackneyed song is forgetfulness. A song
chasing the housewife in celebration of the happy
occasion, in the bed and in the VCR room,
and in her vacant salon, and in her kitchen
And a monument is forgetfulness. Monuments
on the roads shaped like bronze trees
adorned with eulogies and eagles
And a museum empty of tomorrow, cold,
narrating the seasons already chosen from the start.
This is forgetfulness: that you remember the past
and not remember tomorrow in the story.
Words that I have actually learned thus far: remembrance, housewife, room, trees, and tomorrow. Darwish was Palestinian, so read into that what you will. My professor recommended him and he is quite good.
Failure 1: I cannot spell in Arabic.
I'm really, really close most of the time, but that doesn't really count, does it? I put in the wrong "s" or "d" sound (d vs dal vs dthal vs dthol) or put in a long vowel when it should only be a short vowel. It is slowly getting better, but I have been pulling only a 75ish on quizzes. The last time I got a C was in high school math. I reallllllly do not want a C. I have a quiz tomorrow, so hopefully that will go well!
Success 2: I can sort of write in Arabic!
Exhibit: A snippet of homework from a few days ago. I've been experimenting with a fountain pen.
I think this is particularly relevant since Indiana public schools are not requiring cursive to be taught as of next year, which I am really sad about. Because I love love love handwriting!!
Failure 2: I totally missed the bus
And not just missed it, missed it in pathetic fashion. I was standing at the bus stop tonight to head back to campus for a workshop on Ukranian Egg painting (Pysanky?) and looked up as the bus was driving away. The fact that I was zoning out enough to NOT notice a bus right next to me suggested that I would be better off staying home anyway. I've been feeling sick to my stomach the past few days--I blame either stress, having to eating too many dinners on the run or standing next to my kitchen sink, or some bad shredded cheese, but in any case--I stayed in, studied with a friend, heckled the kids on Jeopardy, and ate that all-curing food: toast with cinnamon sugar on it. And now I'm (almost!) going to bed!
Actually, I read two stanzas of a poem, rather than all five, because we were running out of time, but still. Four weeks ago I couldn't read the alphabet, so I'm rather pleased. And here is the poem (in English!), lest you were curious:
This Is Forgetfulness by Mahmoud Darwish
This is forgetfulness around you: billboards
awakening the past, urging remembrance. Reigning in
the speeding time at traffic lights,
and closing up the squares
A marble statue is forgetfulness. A statue
staring at you: Stand up as I do to look like me.
And place roses on my feet
A hackneyed song is forgetfulness. A song
chasing the housewife in celebration of the happy
occasion, in the bed and in the VCR room,
and in her vacant salon, and in her kitchen
And a monument is forgetfulness. Monuments
on the roads shaped like bronze trees
adorned with eulogies and eagles
And a museum empty of tomorrow, cold,
narrating the seasons already chosen from the start.
This is forgetfulness: that you remember the past
and not remember tomorrow in the story.
Words that I have actually learned thus far: remembrance, housewife, room, trees, and tomorrow. Darwish was Palestinian, so read into that what you will. My professor recommended him and he is quite good.
Failure 1: I cannot spell in Arabic.
I'm really, really close most of the time, but that doesn't really count, does it? I put in the wrong "s" or "d" sound (d vs dal vs dthal vs dthol) or put in a long vowel when it should only be a short vowel. It is slowly getting better, but I have been pulling only a 75ish on quizzes. The last time I got a C was in high school math. I reallllllly do not want a C. I have a quiz tomorrow, so hopefully that will go well!
Success 2: I can sort of write in Arabic!
Exhibit: A snippet of homework from a few days ago. I've been experimenting with a fountain pen.
I think this is particularly relevant since Indiana public schools are not requiring cursive to be taught as of next year, which I am really sad about. Because I love love love handwriting!!Failure 2: I totally missed the bus
And not just missed it, missed it in pathetic fashion. I was standing at the bus stop tonight to head back to campus for a workshop on Ukranian Egg painting (Pysanky?) and looked up as the bus was driving away. The fact that I was zoning out enough to NOT notice a bus right next to me suggested that I would be better off staying home anyway. I've been feeling sick to my stomach the past few days--I blame either stress, having to eating too many dinners on the run or standing next to my kitchen sink, or some bad shredded cheese, but in any case--I stayed in, studied with a friend, heckled the kids on Jeopardy, and ate that all-curing food: toast with cinnamon sugar on it. And now I'm (almost!) going to bed!
Friday, 1 July 2011
Thursday Slack-Off
Things that I have done today that do not involve Arabic or anything remotely productive:
--spent two hours at the pool at my apartment complex (gorgeous day, by the way)
--watched three episodes of How I Met Your Mother
--ate a whole avocado
--went for a long walk
--got my bangs cut
--went out for usual Thursday night drinks, which among the five of us involved a piece of cheesecake, nachos, a veggie burger, onion strings and four Long Island Iced Teas
--went to another bar to say hi to a few more friends (and now I have a stamp on my hand and it will not come off...I'm going to be one of "those girls" in class tomorrow...)
--went and got ice cream
--went back to a friend's place and watched an episode of Swamp People. If you don't know what Swamp People is, you are a better human being than I. It's a reality show about alligator hunters in the bayou. The same things happen every episode (spoiler alert: capturing alligators) but for some reason we are all riveted. The best guy, Troy, sings random songs and has a hired gun named Elizabeth, and he says, "SHOOT 'EM! SHOOT 'EM ELIZABETH" pretty much every episode and it has become our catchphrase. No good.
--did about three-quarters of the NY Times crossword puzzle between three of us. Not too shabby!
So that is why I have to get up in less than six hours yet am not remotely done with homework. At least tomorrow is Friday! And that means: naps.
--spent two hours at the pool at my apartment complex (gorgeous day, by the way)
--watched three episodes of How I Met Your Mother
--ate a whole avocado
--went for a long walk
--got my bangs cut
--went out for usual Thursday night drinks, which among the five of us involved a piece of cheesecake, nachos, a veggie burger, onion strings and four Long Island Iced Teas
--went to another bar to say hi to a few more friends (and now I have a stamp on my hand and it will not come off...I'm going to be one of "those girls" in class tomorrow...)
--went and got ice cream
--went back to a friend's place and watched an episode of Swamp People. If you don't know what Swamp People is, you are a better human being than I. It's a reality show about alligator hunters in the bayou. The same things happen every episode (spoiler alert: capturing alligators) but for some reason we are all riveted. The best guy, Troy, sings random songs and has a hired gun named Elizabeth, and he says, "SHOOT 'EM! SHOOT 'EM ELIZABETH" pretty much every episode and it has become our catchphrase. No good.
--did about three-quarters of the NY Times crossword puzzle between three of us. Not too shabby!
So that is why I have to get up in less than six hours yet am not remotely done with homework. At least tomorrow is Friday! And that means: naps.
Sunday, 12 June 2011
Back on Track
Every single post that I write upon returning to school could follow the same basic formula: 1. relief at being back on land and not in a plane, 2. homesickness, loneliness, being tired of traveling and transitioning, etc., and 3. happiness at being back here. And so it goes. So I am back in Indiana, after a relaxing, very necessary month at home, which was followed by a few days with some dear friends in the Finger Lakes before I hit the summer class grindstone.
I was all set to be grumpy and sad when my plane landed in Indiana. I was missing a whole bunch of people, fiercely (still am!) and was ready to dismiss the Hoosiers around me as too loud, too alien, too much NOT my people. “I don’t belong here,” I kept thinking, “but then, where DO I belong??” Never a great feeling to have, especially at 11 pm, after seven hours of airports and no food, with the last flight including a crying infant in the seat next to me (he was SO cute, which helped). One of the things that I find so unnerving about air travel is that it can be two hours later and BAM, you’re suddenly seven states away. As much as I am not crazy about flying, at the same time, everyone was so nice yesterday, from flight attendants to seatmates. And just as I began spiraling into self-pity, a friend picked me up, and we were so busy catching up that we missed our exit and ended up by some random warehouses south of Indianapolis, but rather quickly we got back on track, and made it home without further ado. I crawled into bed with a few pieces of very good dark chocolate, a present which fortunately did not get confiscated en route.
Today again followed the usual pattern of post-travel life—grocery shopping, cleaning, unpacking, visiting, and general unproductivity—I spent the last few hours at a friends eating apple pie and watching Bridget Jones Diary, then have a phone date scheduled in a few minutes, and later am going out to dinner with more friends. I’m spectacularly unprepared for class tomorrow (apparently I have homework due on the first day, and don't have my books yet! whoops), and my to-do list for on-campus things afterwards is huge, AND I have to catch the 7:37 am bus, which is painfully early, but—it could be worse. It could be lots worse. At the end of the day, I think what we all want is people in our lives who are willing to drive us to airports and pick us up there; families and friends who form the backbone of our lives; to love people and to miss them when we are not with them, but to know that they are always a phone call, email, or walk away from us. I have all those things, and holy cats, I am glad that I do!
As I type, Buddy Holly is singing, “you may be a million miles away/ please believe me, yeah, when you hear me say/ I love you/ I love youuu.” And, gentle readers, I do.
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Notes from the Homefront
I came home a week ago and have been a lax blogger, because, well, I've had non-computer things to do! (and thank the goddesses for that.) I've slept, had loads of fresh asparagus, seen a few friends, spent some quality grandmother time, and watched two of the Thin Mans (for about the 700th time, but those movies never get old). I went bike riding for the first time in ages, went to Wegmans (of course), played with the cat, and started Anna Karenina--and am for real going to finish it this time! Most importantly, I got to be a proud big sister when my kid sister graduated from college on Sunday, with a whole heap of honors and awards. It was a nice commencement, decidedly not as pretty as mine, but with a much better speaker--Bill Pullman. He talked a lot about the geography of WNY and how special it is, and how a sense of place is very important, all of which I totally agree with. I graduated from college two years ago today, egads, so I've been feeling very nostalgic this week as well.
More blog posts to come once I load some pictures--my family has been on a mini-vacation for the past two days at Griffis Sculpture Park, Letchworth State Park, the Jell-o Museum (YES), and Genesee Country Village, with a tasty dinner and a beyond-lovely bed and breakfast included.
I was going to say something cranky about how it would be great if it stopped raining, but my mom just told me that the clouds have parted (for the first time in quite a few days, here) and the moon is out. I've just been to look--what a moon! HUGE, and looking very cool and eerie with wispy clouds drifting across it.
Apropos of nothing--I'm listening to the Freewheelin' Bob Dylan as I read this over, and at the end of "Talking World War III Blues," he says, "Well nighttime passed and now it seems, everybody is having them dreams. Everybody sees hisself, walking around with no one else. Half the people can be part right all of the time, and some of the people can be all right part of the time, but all the people can't be all right all of the time. I think Abraham Lincoln said that. I'll let you be in my dream if I can be in yours. I said that."
Goodnight!
More blog posts to come once I load some pictures--my family has been on a mini-vacation for the past two days at Griffis Sculpture Park, Letchworth State Park, the Jell-o Museum (YES), and Genesee Country Village, with a tasty dinner and a beyond-lovely bed and breakfast included.
I was going to say something cranky about how it would be great if it stopped raining, but my mom just told me that the clouds have parted (for the first time in quite a few days, here) and the moon is out. I've just been to look--what a moon! HUGE, and looking very cool and eerie with wispy clouds drifting across it.
Apropos of nothing--I'm listening to the Freewheelin' Bob Dylan as I read this over, and at the end of "Talking World War III Blues," he says, "Well nighttime passed and now it seems, everybody is having them dreams. Everybody sees hisself, walking around with no one else. Half the people can be part right all of the time, and some of the people can be all right part of the time, but all the people can't be all right all of the time. I think Abraham Lincoln said that. I'll let you be in my dream if I can be in yours. I said that."
Goodnight!
Friday, 6 May 2011
Blooming-ton!
My April posts, at least the recent ones, are not happy. Because I wasn't. However, May is already an improvement--I've laughed more in the past three days than I did for probably the last three weeks. Being done with finals has a lot to do with it, as is the fact that I am going home in a few days for all of May. I found out yesterday (after a lot of funding craziness surrounding the Fulbright, FLAS, and Congress) that I got admitted to one of our intensive language classes this summer. I'll be taking Arabic 1 from mid-June to mid-August, for four hours a day. We went bowling on Wednesday (I LOVE bowling, despite being genuinely terrible at it) and last night went to our usual (before we got so busy) Thursday hangout for $3 margaritas and cheese fries in honor of it being both cinco de mayo and Karl Marx's birthday. I've done a weeks worth of dishes and have to do about four loads of laundry tomorrow, but I am DONE being intellectual for a little while--I got a cozy mystery at the library and am going to a friend's in a bit for movie watching and pie eating, so those are all good things too.
I got my hair done this morning, and wandered around downtown a bit, and then on to campus to run some errands. It is graduation weekend and it is mental. I had 500ish in my graduating class, but it's obviously a much different ballgame here. I think the graduate graduations were today and most of the undergraduate ones are tomorrow, but there were people all over. It has finally stopped raining, and the plus side is that the grass is very very green. IU's flower budget is really big (I don't know how true that is, but multiple people have told me that) and today it showed! Here is what I saw today:
Downtown, man selling art on the street. He's there a lot. It's nothing to write home about, art-wise, but not bad either.
Now, I should mention that my undergrad institution is stunningly pretty. However, it is not too shabby here either! There is no quad substitute, though (nor a substitute for the people I sat on the quad with).
Limestone and towers, and creeks and bridges.
The fountain outside the art building--you're looking at the rare books library. The auditorium is to the left, which all these graduation-people were leaving.
And flowers! There are a lot of red and white hanging baskets, but all the graduation people were getting their pictures taken with those, so I went to the ground plants.
And looking at other things that are brightly colored:
My dinner last night--strawberry fool. It should be strawberry-rhubarb fool, but I didn't see any rhubarb (and would rather just pick it from my grandmother's garden when I'm home), so I just doubled the strawberries. Mmmm.
....and my hair is a little purple now.
I got my hair done this morning, and wandered around downtown a bit, and then on to campus to run some errands. It is graduation weekend and it is mental. I had 500ish in my graduating class, but it's obviously a much different ballgame here. I think the graduate graduations were today and most of the undergraduate ones are tomorrow, but there were people all over. It has finally stopped raining, and the plus side is that the grass is very very green. IU's flower budget is really big (I don't know how true that is, but multiple people have told me that) and today it showed! Here is what I saw today:
Downtown, man selling art on the street. He's there a lot. It's nothing to write home about, art-wise, but not bad either.
Now, I should mention that my undergrad institution is stunningly pretty. However, it is not too shabby here either! There is no quad substitute, though (nor a substitute for the people I sat on the quad with).
Limestone and towers, and creeks and bridges.
The fountain outside the art building--you're looking at the rare books library. The auditorium is to the left, which all these graduation-people were leaving.
And flowers! There are a lot of red and white hanging baskets, but all the graduation people were getting their pictures taken with those, so I went to the ground plants.And looking at other things that are brightly colored:
My dinner last night--strawberry fool. It should be strawberry-rhubarb fool, but I didn't see any rhubarb (and would rather just pick it from my grandmother's garden when I'm home), so I just doubled the strawberries. Mmmm.
....and my hair is a little purple now.
Saturday, 30 April 2011
Things to Do to Get Out of Writing
Probably all of you have read If you Give a Mouse a Cookie, where the mouse gets a cookie, but then he wants milk, and a whole list of other things, and it just spirals into silliness (cute book, I like his little overalls). I am like the art history student version of the mouse. I have never been this unmotivated to finish a paper. I don't think I'm that much of a perfectionist, but I'm not happy with how this seminar paper is turning out, yet I don't have enough time, inclination, or interest to completely rewrite it by Monday. I hurt my neck today. I've been looking at my computer practicially non-stop for the past week, between this, and a presentation, and a 15 page annotated bibliography (finals week, eh?). Anyway, I turned sharply, and now have shooting pain up the right side of my neck and head, and now it hurts to turn left. This worked out well for me, though, as it just gave me an excuse to go lie down and avoid staring blankly at the word document. Other things I have done in the past two days to get out of this paper:
--watched four hours of royal wedding coverage, starting at 6 am yesterday. Call me an Anglophile, call me a mushbag, call me a hopeless romantic--I loved it. The tradition, the glamour, the dress, the vows, the beautiful people, the HATS. A lovely interlude in a really bad month.
--read 97 articles (conservative estimate) discussing the royal wedding. Traditions explained. Hat analysis. Middleton family history. Royal family history. Official photos. Anything that the BBC has posted in the past 24 hours, I have probably perused.
--listened to the Fiddler on the Roof soundtrack, approximately 26 times. You know what a great part is that no one knows about? The Wedding Procession. Very danceable.
--went for a late-ish night walk (with someone else, don't worry).
--did no constructive procrastination (ie, laundry, dishes, vacuuming), although I did pick up my kitchen a bit, and cleaned off my closet floor, which made me feel less crazed.
--went to check my mail and then went for a walk instead because it was so nice out.
--watched/listened to the entire first season of Arrested Development. Granted, most of that happened while I was marshaling images and doing another bibliography, but still, it is not very scholarly.
--on an impulse I bought Indian take-out last night, which was a lot more than I normally spend on food--it's one of the more expensive places I've been here, where the entrees are usually $15. But the food is great, and who doesn't want to eat saag paneer (spinach-curry-ginger-homemade cheese awesomeness) with naan and rice? So on the plus side, I haven't had to cook, but I did walk to the Indian place downtown which took awhile (did I mention that it has finally been REALLY NICE out?)
--went to the end of year graduate art history student celebration, which my advisor hosted at his house. A lovely house, too, Indiana limestone and with excellent art, of course. The department provides wine and a bunch of gallery-type food, plus pastas and salads, and really tasty brownies. It was a good few hours of sociability.
--painted my toenails and my fingernails.
--started researching phd programs
--started doing MA research (conveniently forgetting that I will not finish this degree if I don't FINISH THIS PAPER).
--tried to come up with fun saying to help me care about semiotics, and failed.
--stared at the cardinals outside on my plum tree.
--stared at the wall.
--filled in my May calendar.
--made studying play-lists, most of which involved Fiddler on the Roof.
--compulsively checked email (in case professor had decided to cancel paper, etc.)
Well, back to work! My neck is spasm-ing, so I'm going to stop typing for the evening. Tomorrow I am meeting friends for a hearty breakfast and then locking myself in the library until the paper is done or until the library closes, whichever comes first. Scholarly vibes welcome.
--watched four hours of royal wedding coverage, starting at 6 am yesterday. Call me an Anglophile, call me a mushbag, call me a hopeless romantic--I loved it. The tradition, the glamour, the dress, the vows, the beautiful people, the HATS. A lovely interlude in a really bad month.
--read 97 articles (conservative estimate) discussing the royal wedding. Traditions explained. Hat analysis. Middleton family history. Royal family history. Official photos. Anything that the BBC has posted in the past 24 hours, I have probably perused.
--listened to the Fiddler on the Roof soundtrack, approximately 26 times. You know what a great part is that no one knows about? The Wedding Procession. Very danceable.
--went for a late-ish night walk (with someone else, don't worry).
--did no constructive procrastination (ie, laundry, dishes, vacuuming), although I did pick up my kitchen a bit, and cleaned off my closet floor, which made me feel less crazed.
--went to check my mail and then went for a walk instead because it was so nice out.
--watched/listened to the entire first season of Arrested Development. Granted, most of that happened while I was marshaling images and doing another bibliography, but still, it is not very scholarly.
--on an impulse I bought Indian take-out last night, which was a lot more than I normally spend on food--it's one of the more expensive places I've been here, where the entrees are usually $15. But the food is great, and who doesn't want to eat saag paneer (spinach-curry-ginger-homemade cheese awesomeness) with naan and rice? So on the plus side, I haven't had to cook, but I did walk to the Indian place downtown which took awhile (did I mention that it has finally been REALLY NICE out?)
--went to the end of year graduate art history student celebration, which my advisor hosted at his house. A lovely house, too, Indiana limestone and with excellent art, of course. The department provides wine and a bunch of gallery-type food, plus pastas and salads, and really tasty brownies. It was a good few hours of sociability.
--painted my toenails and my fingernails.
--started researching phd programs
--started doing MA research (conveniently forgetting that I will not finish this degree if I don't FINISH THIS PAPER).
--tried to come up with fun saying to help me care about semiotics, and failed.
--stared at the cardinals outside on my plum tree.
--stared at the wall.
--filled in my May calendar.
--made studying play-lists, most of which involved Fiddler on the Roof.
--compulsively checked email (in case professor had decided to cancel paper, etc.)
Well, back to work! My neck is spasm-ing, so I'm going to stop typing for the evening. Tomorrow I am meeting friends for a hearty breakfast and then locking myself in the library until the paper is done or until the library closes, whichever comes first. Scholarly vibes welcome.
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
Just Do What You Like
I was on a flight over the weekend and while we were waiting to take-off I eavesdropped on the people in front of me. Not on purpose (although I am a master eavesdropper), as it was one of those tiny planes between Albany and Newark, so it's not like there was a lot of room. On one side of the aisle was the dad and little girl, and in front of me were the mom and little boy. The kids could have been twins, and maybe 7 years old, while I had noticed the mom in the airport because she had pink hair. Anyway, here's what they were talking about:
The Boy: Mom, I want to be a paleontologist. I want to look at dinosaur bones.
The Mom: You have been saying this for a long time, and I think you would be a great paleontologist! But you don't have to decide now. You've got lots of time to decide what you want to be. You know what job I wanted to have when I was younger?
The Boy: What?
The Mom: A plumber. Then I wanted to be a teacher. Then I majored in something that made me unemployable.
The Boy: What does that mean?
The Mom: It means I majored in anthropology.
The woman next to me laughs and says to me: Speaking of unemployable, I'm a philosophy professor.
Me: Well, I'm an art history grad student.
The woman next to me: We are all awesome back here.
The Dad: Maybe you should think about being a vet. Vets make more money than paleontologists, and you like animals, right? And then you won't have to buy tools to dig up things with.
Little Girl: HORSES!!!
The woman next to me, to the boy's mom: Once he gets to grad school, then people will pay for him to go dig places.
The Dad: Wouldn't that be cool? You could go look for dinosaurs anywhere!
The Boy: Yeah!! And I don't need money. I think people should just do what you like. That's better.
The Mom: That's right, honey. You work a lot, and it's so much better if you enjoy what you do.
The Boy: Because they just do what they like, right?
All of us: Yeah.
I'm not normally in peak form at 7 am, but this made me smile. Although it was followed with a chat with the SUNY professor (who was very nice and had a rockin' purse, by the way) about budget cuts and being on committees and where she had gone (Toronto!! Where I will likely apply, so that was cool) and dissertating and plagiarism all that sort of thing. And she was going to Prince Edward Island to be with her family over spring break, so I was pretty jealous about that. Still am, actually.
And as for me, and just doing what I like? After three manic days, I presented in my seminar today, followed by an Italian make-up test. They were probably both fine, I can never predict these things. I don't hate talking in class as much as I once did, but I'm still not wildly fond about presenting in conference-paper form, especially in something that I'm not totally comfortable talking about. (Like, for instance, comparative signs of prophecy in Ilkhanid manuscripts and Eastern Orthodox ones from the 1300s, for example. Actually, the Ilkhanids are amazing. I can go on about them a lot now, ha!) The professor for this course is exceptionally good, but she also knows she is exceptionally good, and she is one of those people that wants you to see things EXACTLY as she does, which gets frustrating. Best of all, I am DONE for the next 24 hours, so am taking the night off. I did dishes for the first time all week, and cooked dinner for the first time all week, even if it was just oddly-gluey potato pancakes and a glass of wine. I've got a stack of thank you notes to write, so I'm going to cuddle up with a blanket and do that now.
All in all, I'm doing what I like, I suppose. It's at that point in the semester when I don't know what I like anymore though, other than getting enough sleep, and I'm tired of feeling stupid or stressed or unprepared or homesick. But all in all--right on, paleontologist boy. Right on.
The Boy: Mom, I want to be a paleontologist. I want to look at dinosaur bones.
The Mom: You have been saying this for a long time, and I think you would be a great paleontologist! But you don't have to decide now. You've got lots of time to decide what you want to be. You know what job I wanted to have when I was younger?
The Boy: What?
The Mom: A plumber. Then I wanted to be a teacher. Then I majored in something that made me unemployable.
The Boy: What does that mean?
The Mom: It means I majored in anthropology.
The woman next to me laughs and says to me: Speaking of unemployable, I'm a philosophy professor.
Me: Well, I'm an art history grad student.
The woman next to me: We are all awesome back here.
The Dad: Maybe you should think about being a vet. Vets make more money than paleontologists, and you like animals, right? And then you won't have to buy tools to dig up things with.
Little Girl: HORSES!!!
The woman next to me, to the boy's mom: Once he gets to grad school, then people will pay for him to go dig places.
The Dad: Wouldn't that be cool? You could go look for dinosaurs anywhere!
The Boy: Yeah!! And I don't need money. I think people should just do what you like. That's better.
The Mom: That's right, honey. You work a lot, and it's so much better if you enjoy what you do.
The Boy: Because they just do what they like, right?
All of us: Yeah.
I'm not normally in peak form at 7 am, but this made me smile. Although it was followed with a chat with the SUNY professor (who was very nice and had a rockin' purse, by the way) about budget cuts and being on committees and where she had gone (Toronto!! Where I will likely apply, so that was cool) and dissertating and plagiarism all that sort of thing. And she was going to Prince Edward Island to be with her family over spring break, so I was pretty jealous about that. Still am, actually.
And as for me, and just doing what I like? After three manic days, I presented in my seminar today, followed by an Italian make-up test. They were probably both fine, I can never predict these things. I don't hate talking in class as much as I once did, but I'm still not wildly fond about presenting in conference-paper form, especially in something that I'm not totally comfortable talking about. (Like, for instance, comparative signs of prophecy in Ilkhanid manuscripts and Eastern Orthodox ones from the 1300s, for example. Actually, the Ilkhanids are amazing. I can go on about them a lot now, ha!) The professor for this course is exceptionally good, but she also knows she is exceptionally good, and she is one of those people that wants you to see things EXACTLY as she does, which gets frustrating. Best of all, I am DONE for the next 24 hours, so am taking the night off. I did dishes for the first time all week, and cooked dinner for the first time all week, even if it was just oddly-gluey potato pancakes and a glass of wine. I've got a stack of thank you notes to write, so I'm going to cuddle up with a blanket and do that now.
All in all, I'm doing what I like, I suppose. It's at that point in the semester when I don't know what I like anymore though, other than getting enough sleep, and I'm tired of feeling stupid or stressed or unprepared or homesick. But all in all--right on, paleontologist boy. Right on.
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